Biological Conversion of CO₂

Abstract

Utilizing CO₂, as a concept of converting a greenhouse gas into a value-added feedstock, has gained considerable attention in recent years. In a search for sustainable and economically viable routes, scientists and engineers mainly focused on chemical conversion methods, either thermocatalytic, electrocatalytic, or photocatalytic. However, photosynthetic organisms have been converting CO₂ and water into organic matter over more than two billions of years. Over this vast period of time, the sophisticated and, at the same time, robust mechanisms of CO₂ fixation into complex biological molecules have evolved. Terrestrial and marine photosynthetic organisms convert more than 100 Gt per year of CO₂ into biomass. This huge resource could potentially become a disruptive technology for CO₂ conversion into renewable fuels and chemicals.